As the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration nears, we’re keeping track of all the New York City art spaces that will stay closed in protest.
The #J20 Art Strike is imminent and we’ve compiled a running list of spaces that will be closing for Inauguration Day. The Art Strike is intended as an act of solidarity with the broader slate of #J20 events and, as the movement’s site puts it, as a
tactic among others to combat the normalization of Trumpism — a toxic mix of white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchic rule. Like any tactic, it is not an end in itself, but rather an intervention that will ramify into the future. It is not a strike against art, theater, or any other cultural form. It is an invitation to motivate these activities anew, to reimagine these spaces as places where resistant forms of thinking, seeing, feeling, and acting can be produced.
Since there are thousands of spaces across the country, we decided to start local and contact New York-area galleries and art nonprofits to see which would be closing — museums will be listed in a separate post. Below this list is another listing of those spaces organizing special programming for January 20, the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to be added to the list email tips@hyperallergic.com or comment below.
NONPROFITS
A.I.R. [added 1/13/17]
“A.I.R. will be closed on Friday, January 20th and Saturday, January 21st for the Women’s March.” — Jacqueline Ferrante, Director of Fellowship | Associate Director
Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts [added 1/18/17]:
In recognition of the J20 Strike, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts will host no events on January 20. Instead, EFA will join the Queens Museum to instruct and assist in risograph printing for their “Sign of the Times: Sign Making in Solidarity” afternoon of graphic materials production.
First Street Gallery [added 01/14/17]:
“In solidarity with many other NY galleries, the exhibiting artist at First Street Gallery will not open on Friday, Jan 20th, Inauguration Day. Thanks again” —Tracy Collamore
FiveMyles [added 01/14/17]:
“Please add FiveMyles to the list of galleries closed on Inauguration Day.”
No Longer Empty [added 01/13/17]:
“In solidarity with the calls for a #J20ARTSTRIKE, No Longer Empty will be spending time outside the office on January 20th strategizing to support youth leadership during these uncertain times. We will also be hitting the streets to support student walk-outs, benefits for civil rights organizations, and protests across our city.” —Rachel Gugelberger, Curator & Director of NLE Curatorial Lab
ODETTA [added 1/18/17]:
“ODETTA will be closed on Inauguration Day in solidarity with the J20 Art Strike. The gallery will be open on Sat the 21st with artist John Morton keeping our normal hours 1-6 while Director Ellen Fagan marches in NYC.” — Ellen Fagan
Pen + Brush [added 1/18/17]:
Pen + Brush will be closed Friday, January 20th and Saturday, January 21st as we stand with countless other like-minded organizations in our refusal to be “business as usual”. Because it will not be business as usual.
Printed Matter [added 1/18/17]:
The organization announced, in an email, that it will close in solidarity with the #J20 Art Strike and provided the following list of actions and protests occurring on Friday and Saturday in Washington, D.C.: #NotMyPresident; #InaugurateTheResistance; Socialist Feminist Contingent: Protest Trump’s Inauguration; Women’s March on Washington; NYC Stand Against Trump; Black, Brown & Indigenous Mobilize Against White Nationalism; and Women’s March on New York.
Recess [added 1/18/17]:
The art space sent out the following email:
In solidarity with the #J20 Art Strike, Recess will be closed on Friday, January 20.
We will re-open on Saturday, January 21, as a site of refuge and resistance for those who cannot or who choose not to protest in the streets. We invite you to join us.
Smack Mellon:
“For twenty years, Smack Mellon has been committed to hosting and collaborating with under-represented voices. Leading up to our participation in the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday January 21st, and in solidarity with #J20ArtStrike and other movements across the country, we will be closed on Friday, January 20th. We will take this day to reflect on our public accountability and the role cultural institutions play in our democracy.” — Kathleen, Heather, and Eva at Smack Mellon
Triple Canopy [added 1/18/17]:
The organization sent us the following statement:
On January 20, Triple Canopy will join many friends, colleagues, and strangers in a strike to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the forty-fifth President of the United States. To combat the normalization of Trump and all he and his administration represent — white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchy — magazines, museums, universities, theaters, and businesses around the country will shut down so that workers can take action as they see fit. For cultural organizations in particular, this is an occasion to consider how our work can affirm and enact the values that we profess. We implore you to engage in acts of resistance and support, by all available means, the most vulnerable among us.
White Columns:
The art space sent this out at the bottom of their exhibition email today:
“It’s definitely about solidarity with the artists who have called for this and the relationship with the broader J20 efforts,” gallerist Alexander Gray told Hyperallergic. “And you guys ran Coco Fusco’s piece and Coco’s one of the artists we have the pleasure of working with. How could we not be aligned? We are also hosting a book event for Gene Stone, who has written a book called The Trump Survival Guide, on next Thursday, the 19th. So the 19th is about how to deal with it, and Friday is deal with it, and Saturday is demonstrate.”
Andrew Kreps:
The gallery sent the following statement:
“Andrew Kreps Gallery will stand with artists, arts organizations, and other members of the art community in an act of non-compliance by closing the gallery on U.S. Inauguration Day, January 20th. While the gallery will reopen on Saturday, January 21st, we feel it important to encourage discussion in the gallery, and allow members of our staff to actively participate in subsequent events aligned with their own beliefs, such as the Women’s March on Washington. In our current political climate, we must now more than ever work to create platforms for dialogue both within, and outside our communities.”
Axis Gallery [added 1/18/17]:
The gallery made the following announcement on Facebook:
Culture Strike, January 20th. Axis Gallery will close for the day.
bitforms gallery:
“Participating in the J20 Art Strike is our cultural imperative. We do not condone Trump and his agenda, nor do we support his incoming cabinet members. We intend to combat the vitriolic hate engendered by the incoming administration through all available channels, encouraging members of the arts community and the nation at large to join us. The gallery will also be closed on Saturday, January 21 to further encourage participation in the Women’s March on NYC.” —Kerry Doran
Black Ball Projects [added 1/18/17]:
The gallery sent the following statement:
Black Ball Projects will be closed as part of #J20.
Burning in Water [added 1/13/17]:
“In accordance with the broader #J20 Art Strike activities, Burning in Water gallery will be closed on January 20.” — Barry T. Malin
Canada:
“Closing for the days seems like a good idea. I think it brings attention to the fact that there’s something to protest, that we’re all in agreement on that. I don’t think that it’s a huge sacrifice for us to make…We are actively talking amongst ourselves pretty regularly about what it is that we can do in protest and just getting more active in how we can be a place to support dialogue and artists getting together. It’s totally on our minds, and I know a lot of us have participated in a lot of benefits and other things that are going on. Everyone’s fucked up, we’re all in the same boat basically as anyone else trying to figure out how we can contribute and feeling guilty that it’s too little too late, in a way. We should have been doing this all last year…we don’t really have the answer but we’re trying to join in when we can and try to offer some things here. And if this is something we can join in on of course we’ll join in.” — Sarah Braman
Cheim & Read:
“January 20 is a very complicated day and an intensely personal one for many. Some galleries will close, others won’t. The Art Strike should not be seen as divisive. Our decision to close was to show support of the artists behind the movement.” —Adam Sheffer
Danese/Corey [added 1/18/17]:
The gallery sent the following statement:
Danese/Corey will be closed Friday, January 20 in solidarity with our colleagues, artists and other arts organizations participating in the #J20 Artstrike. We feel it is critical to protest the proposed policies of the incoming administration that imperil the very tenets of our democracy.
David & Schweitzer [added 01/15/17]:
“In solidarity with J20, and in support of those going to the March on Saturday, Fran O’Neill and DAVID&SCHWEITZER Contemporary have decided to move Fran’s opening reception for her show from Friday night (January 20th) to Thursday night (January 19th). We have Goodie Bags, with hand warmers and energy bars, for those going to D.C.. We welcome contributions of useful items for marchers to be brought to, and distributed at, Thursday night’s reception.” —Keith Schweitzer, DAVID&SCHWEITZER Contemporary, Owner/Director
Dillon + Lee [added 1/18/17]:
Dillon + Lee will be closing on January 20 and 21
DM Contemporary [added 01/14/17]:
“In solidarity with the #J20 Art Strike, DM Contemporary will be closed on January 20th. For this reason, the opening of our new show, Warm Up, Chill Down, Thaw Out, has been moved to January 19th. —Doris Mukabaa Marksohn, Director
Essex Street:
“Absolutely we will be closed. We’re opening a show the day before the inauguration, which is kind of an anti-inauguration exhibition, and it will open a new space of ours. It’s a very political exhibition. and then the next day we will be closed.” — Maxwell Graham
Foxy Production [added 1/14/17]:
“Foxy Production will be closed and altering its homepage on January 20. #J20ArtStrike. Thank you.” —Michael
Francis M. Naumann Fine Art [added 1/17/17]:
“Trump’s unstable personality and increasingly erratic behavior are the equivalent of a time bomb, one that because of his position as spokesman for the largest democracy on the planet, is the political equivalent of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs … In fighting back, we must do what he does and double-down, peacefully but assertively supporting anyone who objects to this monster of ineptitude being placed in such a dangerous position.” — Francis M. Naumann
Fresh Window [added 1/17/17]:
The gallery sent out the following via email:
Fresh Window will be closed on Friday January 20
Garth Greenan Gallery [added 1/13/17]:
We’re standing in solidarity with the artists and the different spaces that are closing. We’ll be closed on January 20, and on the 21st, our staff have been given the day if they do want to attend protests or go to Washington. If we have enough staff we will be open on the 21st; if we don’t, we’ll remain closed.We’re a family business. It’s Garth and I — I’m an immigrant, and we have a mostly female staff. This election was just a referendum on who we are as a nation, and we are displeased with the outcome. We will stand with whatever community we need to stand with. If the artists are calling for a J20 strike, we’re with them. ” — Bryan Davidson Blue
The Hole [added 1/17/17]:
“We are going to be closed Friday for the art strike but host protest sign making in here for people making womens march and other protest junk
posterboard cardboard paper paint etc 12-7pm” — Kathy Grayson
Lyles & King [added 1/13/17]:
“We will close in solidarity with the J20 strike. Fuck fascists.” — Isaac Lyles
Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery NY [added 1/17/17]:
The gallery sent the following statement:
Lyle O. Reitzel gallery stands alongside our fellow galleries in closing on Friday, January 20th as part of the J20 Art Strike. We are committed to supporting our artists as they participate in the Women’s March and various other expressions of protest against intolerance and xenophobia.
Minus Space:
“Business as usual must stop on January 20. MINUS SPACE will be closed in protest on inauguration day as we stand in solidarity with artists, arts workers, and concerned citizens in cities and small towns across the country and around the globe. The president-elect does not stand for any of our core values. Rather he aggressively attacks all that we celebrate and hold sacred, namely freedom of expression, intellectual inquiry, the search for truth, equality, diversity of every kind, public education, labor, healthcare, and the protection of the environment, among so many other things. Inauguration day will be a day dedicated to reflection and action.” — Matthew Deleget and Rossana Martinez, Minus Space
Lisson Gallery:
“We will indeed close on 20 January as part of the J20 strike. We felt it was important to mark this occasion by standing in solidarity with our artists, other gallery colleagues, and various museums. Everyone is apprehensive about the incoming administration and in these moments, sometimes a collective restraint speaks volumes.” —Alex Logsdail
LMAK gallery:
“We’ve been quite active and vocal against the current mad state we find ourselves in. In short, yes, we will be closed on that day and post a note on the front door and web about the reasons why — mainly as we represent artist that are part of the LGBT community, Women Artists, and free thinkers in general. Also a father of two daughters I can’t believe the bigotry and sexism that we’ve elected to be our president and I have already taken both my daughter to a anti-Trump protest to show them that we can’t sit still and cower in fear for the next four years — we face bullies, we don’t hide.” — Bart Keijsers Koning
Miguel Abreu Gallery:
“We are going to close.” — gallery representative
Present Company [added 01/15/17]:
Please add Present Company to your list of galleries closed in solidarity with #J20 and the Women’s March on Washington.
Salon 94:
Confirmed to Hyperallergic that it will close.
Sean Kelly Gallery [1/17/17]:
The gallery sent the following statement:
Sean Kelly Gallery will close on January 20, 2017, U.S. Inauguration Day, in solidarity with artists, arts organizations, and other members of the art community who are calling for the #J20 Art Strike. Whilst the majority of our staff will be attending the protest rallies in Washington D.C. and New York City on January 21, we will remain open with a skeleton staff for the last day of the exhibition Hugo McCloud: Veiled. We feel strongly, now, more than ever, with civil society under threat, that it is important to make our voices heard and our positions clear in standing up for the fair, unprejudiced, respectful and progressive society that we believe in and the future that we want for America.
Secret Dungeon Project [added 1/18/17]:
“Secret Dungeon will be closed in solidarity with #J20 and will remain closed on Saturday, January 21st so that attention can better be focused on the Women’s March on Washington and New York.” — Nat Ward
SOHO20 [added 1/18/17]:
The gallery sent out an email with the following statement:
SOHO20 will be closed on January 20 + 21, 2017 in solidarity with Women Strike!, J20 Art Strike, the Women’s March on Washington, and many others. We will be open to the public on Thursday, January 19, and Sunday, January 22. We encourage everyone who is able to participate in any way that they feel they can.
Station Independent Projects:
Station Independent Projects nor Greg support Trumps and his cabinets mix of white supremacy, misogyny, sexism or xenophobia. Basket of deplorable is an understatement!Art Strike is an occasion for public accountability, an opportunity to affirm and enact the values that our cultural institutions claim to embody which is freedom of expression, embracing democratic ideals and respecting one another despite our difference.This is just the beginning of fighting back!
The following is a mock up of the sign the gallery will display on their front window by artist Gregory Sholette, who will be showing at the time in the gallery:
steven harvey fine art projects [added 1/13/17]:
The gallery sent the following statement:
steven harvey fine art projects will close the exhibition “for WLD: works from the collection of The William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation” on Friday, January 20th, in conjunction with the J20 general art workers strike and in honor of William Louis-Dreyfus’s substantial efforts to combat voter suppression. We will reopen on Saturday, January 21st.
Steven Kasher Gallery [added 1/13/17]:
We will be closed January 20-21 for the strike.
Thomas Erben Gallery [added a/1/18/17]:
“After having just moved to New York in the summer of 1989, I witnessed the first Day Without Art, drawing awareness to the then rampant AIDS crisis. The symbolism of experiencing the doors of publicly accessible cultural spaces closed resonated deeply with me, and has remained etched in my memory. Similarly, closing spaces of cultural refuge, awareness, and advancement for Inauguration Day 2017, reminds us all that if we don’t fight for what sustains us — culture in all its manifestation/ the earth/ our fellow human beings/ a fair and democratic political system/ freedom of the press/ rule of law and responsible governance — these will deteriorate and slip through our fingers. In solidarity with the J20ArtStrike, Thomas Erben Gallery will thus remain closed on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017″ — Thomas Erben
Victori + Mo [added 1/17/17]:
“Victori + Mo is a place that celebrates the freedom of expression and applaud diversity. We support creativity is a platform for change and we must preserve that right. The current president-elect is a threat to our core values and in solidarity with our artistic community we will be closed on January 20th as part of the J20 Art Strike.Our current exhibition, Never Stop Dancing by Phoenix Lindsey-Hall serves as a reminder of those we lost to hate and injustice.” — Celine Mo
Viridian Artists [added a/1/18/17]:
The gallery sent us the following statement:
Viridian Artists will be closing for the #J20 Art Strike. We will be open on Friday the 20th but in mourning with a black drape to remind visitors that we are in protest & mourning. On Saturday, the 21st, we will be closed as we join the Woman’s March, the first Day our new president is in office.
Wallach Art Gallery:
The gallery sent us the following statement:
In solidarity with the #J20 Art Strike, and in consultation with the currently-exhibiting artists and the exhibition’s curator, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University in the City of New York will be closed on Friday, January 20, 2017. Each of us will use the time for what we individually deem to be appropriate acts of non-compliance, resistance, participation, and action.
New York Galleries and Nonprofits Not Closing But Organizing Special Programming or Events
The City Reliquary Museum & Civic Organization [added 1/13/17]:
The City Reliquary Museum will launch a kick-off party for its event series, “Beyond Patience & Fortitude: In Protection and Celebration of New York’s Diverse Cultures” that will “continue with civic-minded events happening on Thursday evenings through March,” events coordinator Molly Cox told Hyperallergic. “Events will include instruction in political advocacy and in education and appreciation of the diversity of New York.”
Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space [added 1/13/17]:
The gallery will open a 45-day long exhibition on January 20 titled Shadow Cabinet, described as a “loyal opposition response.” An accompanying statement on its website reads:
We launch Shadow Cabinet on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017. Some people go on strike. We do not. We do the opposite. We go to work, in loyal opposition. We acknowledge that an election has taken place, within its rules, and unless compelling proof can be found of manipulation, we will take as de facto the Administration of Donald J. Trump. To protest that would be to protest the US Constitution. It would be to protest ourselves. That was not provided for in the First Amendment. One must allow the Administration to start, without rancor, without questioning its legitimacy (unless compelling evidence emerges otherwise). For now, we accept that the Administration of Donald J. Trump is de jure.Therefore, our actions in response are those of a Loyal Opposition, in line with long-standing traditions of the country from which the United States spun off, declaring independence: Great Britain.
Galerie St. Etienne [added 01/14/17]:
“Galerie St. Etienne will remain open on January 20. Our current exhibition on American Artists and Communist Party, installed just down the block from Trump Tower, is especially relevant in the wake of the election. As the administration takes a big step to the right, we stand committed to socially-conscious art. The works on display make it all too obvious that Depression-era inequities are no less rampant or socially destructive today. Thank you!” —Christina Christina Roman, Galerie St. Etienne
EIDIA House:
EIDIA House Plato’s Cave is inviting anyone to submit a poem that will be printed and displayed in an exhibition, held “in the spirit of J20 Art Strike January 20 and WRITERS RESIST.”
Paula Cooper Gallery:
They are unsure what they will do on #J20 but they have rented a bus for staff, artists, and friends to go down to DC the next day for the protests.
Pierogi:
Artist Jim Torok, who is currently showing in the gallery, explains that his show directly addresses the election and general situation and preferred to keep his exhibition open and be in the gallery to discuss everything with anyone who wishes to come by.
The Lodge Gallery
“We will be open at The Lodge Gallery on the 20th. We are open from 2pm to 10pm on Fridays so we’ll be viewing coverage of the inauguration spectacle from here for visitors to watch or discuss. We have our current exhibition- Ayakamay, “Captive_Train_reck” on view through the 22nd and the show must go on.” — Jason Patrick Voegele
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